“When you run for president, and you move into the top tier, you get this bull’s-eye on your back,” the GOP presidential hopeful told the crowd at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C.
In particular, Mr. Cain assailed critics of his plan to replace the tax code with a 9% across-the-board tax on income, corporate profits and sales, accusing his detractors of spreading misinformation about its impact.
The former restaurant executive swooped into Washington amid an unexpected surge in the polls following his surprise win at a much-watched straw poll in Florida last month. Mr. Cain, who is pitching his new book, seems to relish all the new attention and continues to laugh off skeptics who still don’t think he has a shot at the nomination, much less the presidency.